{"id":61955,"date":"2022-05-03T18:23:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/05\/03\/austin-pledges-to-restock-us-ammo-sent-to-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:37:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:37:44","slug":"austin-pledges-to-restock-us-ammo-sent-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2022\/05\/03\/austin-pledges-to-restock-us-ammo-sent-to-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin pledges to restock US ammo sent to Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured lawmakers Tuesday he wouldn\u2019t let stockpiles of critical munitions<\/a> fall below minimum levels, as the U.S. sends its own weapons to Ukraine\u2019s defense against Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a Senate defense appropriations committee hearing on the Pentagon\u2019s 2023 budget request, lawmakers pressed Austin over the struggles <\/a>to replenish the stocks of munitions that the Biden administration has sent abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very critical to ensure that we maintain what we consider to be our minimum required stockage levels, and you can rest assured that I will not allow us to go below that in critical munitions,\u201d Austin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s fight to repel Russia\u2019s invasion has hinged on the ability of the U.S. and allies to quickly send equipment like Javelins and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles from their own supplies. At the same time, the administration is working with a defense industry beset by supply chain issues to keep pace with demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Joe Biden\u2019s visit to Lockheed Martin\u2019s Javelin factory in Alabama<\/a> is expected to highlight those concerns \u2015 as well as the massive $33 billion Ukraine aid supplemental<\/a> that Biden requested last week. That request includes $550 million to establish a new Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund, which Austin has said would let the Pentagon establish a \u201cstrategic reserve\u201d for munitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon has been tight-lipped about the levels of its own equipment and offered assurances that military readiness is not in jeopardy. The exchanges Tuesday on Capitol Hill didn\u2019t delve into the specifics of how the Pentagon calculates the minimum level of its stockpiles or its readiness, but Austin was upbeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\t